Means for supplying oil to a spinning ring



Aug. 22, 1961 A. J. WAYSON MEANS FOR SUPPLYING OIL TO A SPINNING RINGFiled June 15, 1960 56 e4 68 82 66 7o '12 68 5'4- 80 7a 68 '76 5'8 v m iINVEN TOR.

ANDREW J. WAYSON BY FIG?) 02a, my amaze ATTORNEYS United States Patent(3 F 2,996,871 MEANS FOR SUPPLYING 01L TO A SPINNING RING Andrew J.Wayson, Needham, Mass., assignor to Merriman Bros, Inc., Boston, Mass.,a corporation of Massachusetts Filed June 15, 1960, Ser. No. 36,379Claims. (Cl. 57-120) This invention relates to the textile industry andis particularly concerned with the provision of new and novel means forsupplying oil to a spinning ring. When the term spinning ring is usedherein, it will also be understood to encompass the term twisting ring.When the term oil is used herein, it is understood that reference ismade to any liquid medium that can serve as a lubricant for the travelerof the spinning ring.

In the spinning of textile yarns, spinning rings made of powdered metalhave come into extensive use. Powdered metal rings are of a porousnature so that oil fed to such rings permeates the entire ring toproduce a very thin film of oil over the entire working surface. Thisoil film is adequate to properly lubricate the traveler as it moves athigh velocity about the ring.

In supplying oil to powdered metal rings, one of the major problems hasbeen to supply the oil in the right quantity. If oil is supplied at toogreat a rate, a surplus will accumulate on the ring and drip therefrom,with the possibility of spoiling or damaging the yarn. If the oilsupplied is too little, then the lubrication will be inadequate and thetravelers will wear out too quickly. A solution to the problem ofsupplying oil to powdered metal rings at the proper rate has beenachieved through the utilization of metering means in the form of feltsof varying absorptive capacities. These felts are supplied with oil bywicks from a main oil reservoir and the oil in the felts is thentransferred to wicks which lead into one or more circumferential groovesabout the spinning ring. Thus oil can be transferred from the felt tothe ring only as fast as the felt receives oil from the main oilreservoir by means of the wick leading from the reservoir to the felt. 7By using felts of greater or less oil absorbing capacity, the rate ofoil fed to the ring may be controlled.

According to the practices of the prior art in this particular field, ithas been necessary to periodically replenish the oil supply in eachindividual reservoir of each spinning ring. While the reservoir isgenerallyof sufficient capacity to maintain the oil supply to the ringfor a substantial period, nevertheless replenishing of the oil supplymust be done regularly; and in a textile mill, where literally thousandsof rings are inoperation, the labor cost for this work is substantial.

Means for supplying oil to the individual rings of a spinning frame froma common central supply has long been known in the art, but up to thepresent this method of lubrication has only been used with solidnon-porous steel spinning n'ngs. By means of periodic pumping impulses,small quantities of oil have been supplied to the interior areas of suchsolid rings with limited success, but such process is not capable ofadaptation to use with porous rings because the oilfed to the porousring must be fed slowly and continuously, for the oil must be absorbedby the ring to pass slowly therethrough. Periodic applications of oil toa porous ring does not give satisfactory results.

, According to the present invention, it is proposed that a centralsource of oil be provided with feed pipes running to the individualreservoirs that are associated with each of the powdered metal spinningrings mounted on the ring rail of a spinning frame. The oil reservoirwill be either continuously supplied or periodically refilled with oilpumped thereto from the central source. Re

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' by capillary attraction travels through the felts in a known manner tobe transferred to a second wick which runs from the felts to the groovessurrounding the powdered metal rings. In this way, the rate of feed ofoil to the spinning ring will be properly maintained at all timesregardless of the reservoir oil level or the rate at which oil is fedfrom the central source to the individual ring reservoir. If oil is fedto the reservoir at an excessive rate, the level is prevented fromrising above a fixed point through the utilization of a dam at one sideof the reservoir over which all surplus oil flows to escape into a drainwhich runs back to the main oil supply. In other words, the onlyrequirement of the central oil supply system is to supply oil insufficient quantity to maintain each individual ring reservoir full orat least partially full. With this accomplished, the wick arrangementrun ning from the reservoir to the felts and from the felts to the ringcontrols the rate of oil delivery to the ring.

These and other objects of the invention will become more apparent asthe description proceeds with the aid of the accompanying drawings inwhich FIG. 1 is a plan view of a spinning ring and the associated holder(broken away in part), oil reservoir, felt compartment and draincompartment.

1 FIG. 2 is a vertical section taken on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1 toenlarged scale.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the reservoir, felts and drain in moredetail, the cover having been removed.

FIG. 4 is a section taken on the line 4--4 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a vertical section similar to FIG. 2 showing a modified typeof construction.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown therein a vertical type spinningring 2 mounted in a holder 4 which is adapted to rest on a conventionalring rail. It will be understood that a large number of identicalspinning rings and holders are positioned in side-by-side relation onthe ring rail of the spinning frame. However, all of the rings andholders are identical, and therefore an explanation with respect to oneunit will suffice for all.

At one side of the holder is a lubrication unit generally indicated at8. This unit is preferably positioned at the rear of the ring rail tomake connection with the oil feed pipe which extends therealong andsupplies all of the rings. This portion 8 of the holder has threeindividual compartments, a felt compartment 10 in which areposif' tionedthe metering felts 12, an oil reservoir compartment 14 and an overflowand drain compartment .16. The three compartments are jointly covered bya transparent cover 17 secured by suitable pins 19 in a recess 21. Oilis supplied to the oil reservoir compartment by a common oil feed pipe18 from which extends a branch line 20 leading through a port 22 high upin the outer wall 24. Between felt compartment lit and reservoir 14 is arelatively high wall 26 notched along its upper sur-' face as at 28. Twofelts, in the preferred form, are placed one on top of the other at 30and 32. Between these two felts reside the ends 34- of a wick 36 whichextends up and over the wall 26, resting in the notch 28. The wick thendrops down into the oil reservoir 14, with its ends 38 resting on thebottom there of as indicated in FIG. 2.

At the other end of the oil reservoir is a relatively 10' wall or dam410 separating the oil reservoir from the overflow compartment 16. Adrain 42 leads from the overflow compartment to any suitable oilcollecting tank.

As oil is supplied to the reservoir 14 through the oil supply pipe 18,it is obvious that as soon as the oil has risen to the level 44 anyfurther oil supplied will flow over the wall 40 into the draincompartment 16 and out the drain pipe 42. Thus the oil in oil reservoir14 can never rise above the level 44 regardless of the rate at which itmay be supplied by the common supply pipe 18. Referring now to FIGS. 1and 2, it will be seen that at the lefthand end of the metering felts12, a wick 46 is positioned therebetween which leads in the usual mannerthrough a passage 48 to the spinning ring 2. As shown in FlG. 4, thering 2 has thereabout its outer circumference a groove 50 in whichresides the wick 46. Thus oil in the felts 30 and 32 is transferred bycapillary attraction to wick 46 which carries it about the ring 2 to Ireservoir to a level which is below the top of the wall bebe absorbed bythe porous metal to distribute itself all over the ring surface andthereby to lubricate the traveler 52 as it moves about the ring.

In this way, regardless of the rate that oil is fed through the commonsupply pipe 18, the oil can travel to the ring only as fast as it isconveyed by wick 36 to the felts and thence by wick 46 to the ring.Thiseliminates the necessity for any accurate control of thepumping-mechanism from the common supply that forces oil through pipe18. The control of the rate of feed remains withvth felts.

A modification of the invention is shown in FIG. 5. This is a verticalcross-section taken throughthe lubrication unit and is generally similarto FIG. 2. In this c011- struction, the oil reservoir is indicated at54. Theoil is tween said reservoir and felt compartment, a drainadjacent said lower wall thereby oil overflowing said lower wall mayescape through said drain, a wick having one end in said reservoir andleading up and over said higher wall into said felt compartment where itis in contact with said felts to transmit oil by capillary attractionfrom said reservoir to said felts, and another wick extending from saidfelts to said spinning ring.

3. In combination with a spinning ring holder, oil supplying means for aspinning ring carried by said holder,

supplied through pipe 56 which is connected with the said oil supplyingmeans comprising a lateral extension of said holder and having wallstherein forming three compartments, the first compartment containingmetering felts, the second compartment being an oil reservoir with a lowwall at one end and the third compartment acting as an overflowcompartment to receive oil overflowing said wall from said secondcompartment, the wall between said metering felts compartment and saidoil reservoir extending horizontally and above the maximum oil level insaid reservoir as determined by said low wall, a wick extending fromsaid reservoir to said felts, a piping system for supplying oil to saidreservoir, and a drain from said overflow compartment to drain oif oilthat may flow into said overflow compartment from said oil reser- '2voir.

oil in reservoir 54. Two felts 70 and 72 are carried by floor 66 and arecovered by the transparent cover 74. The maximum level that the oil canreach is indicated by the line 76. The oil is conveyed from the oilreservoir to the felts 70 and 72 by a wick 78, the upper end of which at80 is shown positioned between the lower felt 70 and the felt supportingfloor 66. The wick 82, which is similar to wick 46, is positionedbetween the two felts 70 and 72 and transmits the oil from the felts tothe spinning ring 2 in the same manner as previously described withregard to wick 46.

It is my intention to cover all changes and modifications of theexamples of the invention herein chosen for purposes of the disclosurewhich do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of theinvention.-

I claim:

1. Means for supplying oil to a powdered metal spinning ring, said meanscomprising an oil reservoir, means for supplying oil to said oilreservoir from a central source, overflow means associated with saidreservoir to limit the quantity of oil that may be retained in saidreservoir, a compartment adjacent said oil reservoir, metering felts insaid compartment, a first wick leading from said oil reservoir above theoil level thereof over a separating wall and into contact with saidmetering felts, and a second wick spaced from said first wick andleading from said felts to said powdered metal spinning ring wherebyregardless of the rate at which oil may be fed to said reservoir therate of oil fed to said ring will re- Ifnilin under the control of thewicks and the metering e t8.

2. Means for lubricating a porous metal Spinniug'ring,

4. In combination with a spinning ring holder, oil supplying means for aspinning ring carried by said holder, said oil supplying meanscomprising a lateral extension of said holder and having walls thereinforming three compartments, the first compartment containing meteringfelts, the second compartment being an oil reservoir and the thirdcompartment acting as an overflow compartment to receive oil overflowingfrom said second com-' partment, the wall between said metering feltscompartment and said oil reservoir being higher than the wall betweensaid oil reservoir and said overflow compartment, a wick extending fromsaid reservoir to said felts, a piping system for supplying oil to saidreservoir, and a drain from said overflow compartment to drain 01f oilthat may flow into said overflow compartment from said oil reservoir.

5. Means for supplying oil to a powdered metal spinning ring, said meanscomprising an oil reservoir, means for supplying oil to said oilreservoir from a central source, overflow means associated with saidreservoir to limit the quantity of oil that may be retained in saidreservoir, a compartment adjacent said oil reservoir, metering felts insaid compartment, a first wick leading from said oil reservoir above theoil level thereof and into contact with said metering felts, and asecond wick spaced from said first wick and leading from said felts tosaid powdered metal spinning ring whereby regardless of the rate atwhich oil may be fed to said reservoir the rate of oil fed to said ringwill remain under the control of the wicks and the metering felts.

Stahl Mar. 4, i941 2,871,651 Fillinger Feb. 3, 1959 2,936,568

Wayson May 17, 1960

